The Commission did recommend increased fund- 
ing for the Sea Grant program and NSF educational 
activities of that time, but it proposed no new large 
marine education efforts. 
Detailed information on marine manpower supply 
and demand is lacking (a point to be discussed later), 
but today there appear to be few complaints about 
either shortages or surpluses of marine professionals. 
Perhaps because of this, there seems to be little 
major criticism of the present university-based system 
for educating marine professionals. There is concern 
about funding, of course, and sometimes about spend- 
ing priorities, but there are few serious proposals to 
change either the organization of the universities or 
the way the Federal Government participates in 
marine education. One indication of this is that 
despite the concerns mentioned earlier and despite 
periodic amendments to existing legislation, this field 
has had no major new laws since the creation of the 
Sea Grant program in 1966. 
Three Major Federal Programs 
Several Federal agencies have higher education 
programs which affect marine training as well as 
education in other fields. For instance, the Office of 
Education in the Department of Health, Education, 
and Welfare administers the Higher Education Act, 
which provides fellowships, loans, and other assist- 
ance to college students. The Veterans Administra- 
tion operates the GI-Bill program. 
Of the several agencies involved in higher educa- 
tion, historically three have supported the marine 
field through major Federal programs: The Navy’s 
Office of Naval Research (ONR), the National Sci- 
ence Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Com- 
merce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admini- 
stration (NOAA), which now operates the National 
Sea Grant Program. Also, the Department of Trans- 
portation funds a small program for graduate work 
for Coast Guard officers. Table 8-3 gives estimates 
of expenditures by these agencies for marine educa- 
tion in recent years (FY 1974, 1975, and 1976). Not 
included in the table are extensive Navy and NOAA 
programs of graduate-level education for their per- 
sonnel. The Department of Commerce figure is for 
Sea Grant educational activities, which include both 
research assistantships and efforts to develop college 
and pre-college curricula. The Department of De- 
fense figure is primarily for research assistantships 
related to ONR contracts with universities. The NSF 
figure is for fellowships and training grants to stu- 
dents in the marine sciences; it does not include re- 
search assistantships related to NSF grants and con- 
tracts. 
Office of Naval Research (ONR) 
ONR was created to support research—both at 
universities and within the Navy’s own laboratories. 
However, over the years many graduate students 
have worked on ONR-sponsored projects, gaining 
training and experience in the process. 
ONR was the first major Government research 
organization established after World War II. It not 
only has had an enormous impact on marine science, 
but also has served as the model for other Federal 
programs funding university research and develop- 
Table 8-3.—Estimates of expenditures by Federal 
agencies for marine education in colleges and 
universities + 
Estimated by fiscal year: 1974 LOTS STG 
million dollars 
Educationiemrerineccrcecs 10.1 11.3 1S 
Department of Commerce . 5.0 ’ 5.8 5.8 
Department of Defense 
Militany .h Qaoa eee 4.1 4.5 4.6 
National Science 
Foundation? .......... 0.7 0.7 0.6 
Department of 
Transportation ........ 0.3 0.3 0.3 
*Source: Science and Technology Policy Office, National Sci- 
ence Foundation. The Federal Ocean Program. Washington, D.C., 
Government Printing Office. April 1975, p. 87. 
* NSF figures do not include university research assistantships 
financed through Foundation grants and contracts. 
ment. It provided a timely infusion of money into 
American postwar science, and gave its university 
researchers a substantial amount of independence. 
It was willing to fund basic research and was sensi- 
tive enough to scientific norms to allow virtually all 
of the research it supported to be published in the 
open scientific literature.°* 
The Navy’s role in university research and attend- 
nt training was reduced in 1970, however, when the 
ongress passed the so-called Mansfield Amendment. 
This directed the military to stop financing any 
projects or studies in basic science unless they are 
closely related “to a military function or opera- 
tion.” ?* ONR’s mission and budget were sharply 
cut as a result, and NSF took on the responsibility 
of being the main Federal-sponsor of basic research. 
Yet ONR continues to fund applied research projects 
** Daniel Greenberg. The Politics of Pure Science. New York 
and Cleveland, The World Publishing Company, 1967, pp. 134— 
138. 
* Milton Lomask. A Minor Miracle: An Informal History of 
the National Science Foundation. Washington, D.C., Govern- 
ment Printing Office, 1975, p. 240. See also Chapter VII, Marine 
Science and Technology. : 
VIII-10 
